Long before I was a writer, I was a reader. Some of my fondest memories are of reading the Sunday paper with the comics, going to the library, or anxiously standing on the corner waiting for the bookmobile to arrive.
Prince Valiant was my all time fav comic. I lost myself in those amazing images by Hal Foster of Valiant fighting to save his people while falling in love with the fair Aleta. The illustrations in the strip are amazing and I loved reading the stories and making up my own action-adventure romance as I fell asleep at night. I should have known then that I was meant to put my stories on paper in the future.
This strip was first published in 1937 and is still syndicated today to 300 American newspapers. The creator, Hal Forest, is a Hall of Fame cartoonist and illustrator. Thank you, Mr. Forest, for such wonderful memories.
As I mentioned earlier, another memory is of the blue Levittown bookmobile rolling up to the corner. I’d dash in to return the books I had borrowed and to find new books! I always had a book in my hands and when I wasn’t reading a book, I was reading the cereal box. LOL!
Here’s a picture of an early version of the library bookmobile.
I hope you enjoyed this Write Wednesday look at my days as a reader before I became a writer.
Prince Valiant Photo Credit: http://www.alvarezperea.com/alberto/images/prince_valiant.jpg http://www.schrijvergezocht.com/viewtopic.php?p=13868&sid=949d10039a50efca4d09d9d0e842e2ee This is fair use under US Copyright law because (1) It is only a small portion of the Prince Valiant body of work; (2) It should not affect the commercial value of Prince Valiant; and (3) It is used for non-commercial purposes.
Levittown Bookmobile Photo Credit: Levittown Public Library, 1 Bluegrass Lane, Levittown, N.Y. 11756
